Bryan Laprise
Consignaction deposit location at 1900, Belvédère Sud accepts unit or bag return

By Bryan Laprise

Local Journalism Initiative

In a world with an increasing number of products and types of containers and wrappers, it can be hard to identify what should be disposed in what bin. Or should it be put in a bin at all?

The Record spoke to Hélène Dauphinais, president of Récup Estrie’s governing board and Jean-François Lefort, vice-president of corporate affairs at Consignaction to get a better understanding of how the recycling system works in Quebec.

Recycling: how it works

Récup Estrie is the organization responsible for the sorting of recyclable matter for Sherbrooke, the MRC of Memphrémagog, Coaticook, Haut-Saint-François,Val-Saint-François and des Source’s—some 200,000 people.

Since the start of 2025, Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) has been responsible for the recycling system throughout Quebec but  because Récup Estrie already had the infrastructure to collect and sort what citizens put in their green (or blue) bins, ÉEQ subcontracted it for the region it covers.

The basis of the system is that citizens put recyclable materials in their recycling bins at home, which is then collected and brought to a sorting facility. It then passes on conveyor belts and optical sorting systems sort out different materials. In addition to the machines used in the process, employees also sort items and operate the mechanized systems.

Common materials are brought together in bales which are collected by ÉEQ for them to sell. Prior, Récup Estrie has been in charge of selling the bales it created.

What’s accepted?

To quote the Bin Impact campaign from ÉEQ, the general rule for what goes in the recycling bin is “Containers, packaging, printed paper.”

This includes paper and cardboard as well as containers and packaging made out of glass or metal.

It is best to rinse or wash containers before throwing them out, according to Dauphinais. “There are parts of the sorting chain in which people have to remove things from the chain. If it’s dirty or starting to rot because it spent a week in the bin, remember that there are people working on those chains. Also, when it’s hot at the factory, imagine the odours caused by unrinsed containers.”

Materials like Styrofoam, while recyclable must be brought to ecocentres. At the sorting facility, Styrofoam is not sorted. It tends to crumble and can even damage the machinery.

All plastic containers can be put in the recycling bin, no matter the type. However, assembled plastic, such as toys, cannot be put in the bin as it is not a container. It must be brought to the ecocentre.

Other materials such as cloth and textiles are not accepted in the recycling bin. There are other places to recycle them, such as Récupex boxes around Sherbrooke, which collect and reuse the material.

“If someone hesitates about whether something goes in the recycling bin, most times, it doesn’t go in the bin,” said.

There are websites and apps that can help people know what goes in which bin. For example, Ça va où? from Recyc-Québec, is available online and via an app. It offers services in French and in English.

Contamination

If a person puts items that are not accepted at the sorting facility in their recycling bin, the truck won’t be turned away, since most people it services follow the sorting rules correctly.

“On a road, there might be a person or two that will have put things that shouldn’t be put in the bin,” said the Récup Estrie president.

Upon arrival, the truck unloads everything it collected, and it is put onto the conveyor belts. The most frequent consequence of having unaccepted materials collected is machine blockages. This might lead to breaks or lost time.

According to Dauphinais, upon reception, there can be piles of material to sort up to five or six people high twice a day.

For the Estrie sorting facility, approximately 15 per cent of the material that passes through the factory is rejected and sent to the dump.

It is important to properly sort residual matters, as an item might be recyclable, but won’t be accepted in the recycling bin. If something that should’ve been sent to the ecocentre makes its way to Récup Estrie’s sorting facility, it will ultimately be sent to the dump.

Collection

Everything is weighed during the process. Récup Estrie goes through 30,000 to 32,000 tons of recyclable matter every year.

Dauphinais shared that in recent years, the volume of matter treated is gradually decreasing, despite a growing population.

“This means that probably, the companies that produce packaging, greatly reduce the amount of cardboard they use, for example. Producers compact the packaging at the maximum,” she said.

Another example is reducing the thickness of plastic bottles and other containers. She doesn’t believe that this shift is attributable to a decrease in recycling habits among the population. In places like Sherbrooke, garbage pickup isn’t very frequent in certain parts of the year, which forces people to put waste in the correct bin to have enough room.

Refund system

Quebec’s deposit-refund system for drink cans and bottles has been undergoing modernization since 2023. When buying beverages with a deposit, the cost is automatically added at check-out and is returned to the consumer upon bringing them back to stores to recycle at the counter or machines.

Since March of this year, all plastic ready-t0-drink beverage containers have a 10-cent deposit. Previously, only soft drinks had a five-cent deposit, but now, water, sparkling water, juice and milk bottles are among those included in the system.

“The system is undergoing a transformation. One of the biggest obstacles are the habits developed over the last 40 years. Those are going to be transformed in the coming months and years,” Lefort stated.

Before modernization, 2.5B containers were collecting. The new goal is 5B by the end of modernization. The system allows for a closed system with very little contamination, allowing for 100 per cent recycling of all containers, unlike at the sorting center.

Compacted aluminum, plastic and carton containers are sent to Sorel-Tracy for sorting. Bales of each material are made and sent out to recyclers. Plastic is sent to Joliette, where pellets are created to make new bottles, while aluminum is sent to the United States as volume to have a similar factory in Canada isn’t profitable. Glass is treated in Saint-Jean and then sold to partners.

Consignaction has been opening up locations for container return (including express bag return by using the app) across the province, including two in Sherbrooke (1900 Belvédère S, 4857 Bd Bourque #27). As before, returns are also possible at convenience and grocery stores.